Emily Seebohm quitting social media for the duration of the Rio Olympics to avoid repeat of London

AFTER reading too many messages of adulation on Twitter prior to her final at the Lodnon Olympics, Emily Seebohm has a whole new approach for Rio.

Emily Seebohm training at Auburn University in the USA in preparation for the Rio Olympics. Pics Adam Head

EMILY Seebohm has revealed she plans to quit social media at the Rio Olympic Games.

The move comes after James Magnussen led warnings to the entire Dolphins team on the perils of the digital world for young athletes.

The Dolphins gathered for a team meeting at their Auburn training camp earlier this week to discuss social media when afterwards, unprompted, Magnussen stood up to share with the other swimmers his experiences and issues.

It was another familiar tale for the swim team who all recall how Seebohm infamously broke down in tears immediately after her silver medal swim at the London Olympics in 2012.

The backstroke star, now a dual world champion, was shattered at the thought she’d let her country down after reading too many messages of adulation prior to her final on Twitter.

Emily Seebohm trains at Auburn University in the USA in preparation for the Rio Olympics. Pics Adam Head

Seebohm said that definitely won’t be the case in Rio next week as she’s already set up a plan to log out of social media for the Games, leaving a close friend in charge of her accounts to post Olympic updates to her tens of thousands of followers.

“I’ve actually given my account to a friend of mine who is going to run them while I’m competing so I don’t have to worry about it at all,” Seebohm said.

“I don’t have a deadline (of when I will turn it off) as such, I’m just going with it but I’ve given her my accounts so she will probably just take over and I will send her some stuff like photos or whatever I said and just update it with race stuff.”

I’ve actually given my account to a friend of mine who is going to run them while I’m competing

Emily Seebohm

It’s not only social media Seebohm is blocking from her world. With the team basing their camp in Alabama, she has been able to completely disconnect from any form of media so her head isn’t being filled with praise or overwhelmed by issues relating to Rio.

“We’ve been so isolated here so we haven’t thought too much about what is going on,” she said.

“I’m kind of just working on my training, make sure that it’s 100 per cent perfect so I can go in and feel confident no matter what is being said.

“So by the time I get into Rio I know that I’m 100 per cent so it doesn’t matter what anyone else is saying or writing or a comment from a competitor once I get in there.”

The Australian swim team have a whole new outlook for the 2016 Games. Pics Adam Head

It’s clear that Seebohm has matured in the past four years. Now 24 and heading into her third Olympics, her goals are no longer focused on the colour of the medal she wants hanging from her neck but rather putting together the perfect sequence of swims.

In London she went from fastest to slowest through the heats, semis and finals. In Rio she must completely reverse that to find her Olympic happiness.

“I would be really happy just doing a perfect heat, semi and final,” Seebohm said.

“If I didn’t medal yeah it’s disappointing but at least I know that I can set it up for myself. If I went back and went the same way I did in London I would be disappointed but you know if I can do better and hopefully get a medal we will see.”

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Originally published as Emily Seebohm quitting social media for the duration of the Rio Olympics to avoid repeat of London